JotCast | Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 9/23/2026

Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 9/23/2026

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Luke Adams

1:02

Good afternoon, all! Thanks for the early questions. Will start answering them in a minute.

Walt

1:03

Can my clippers extend their consecutive winning season streak? The roster this year is decent and maybe they can pull it off?

Luke Adams

1:04

Tyronn Lue often seems to do his best work with this sort of roster that's light on star-power, and I don't think the West will be that scary this season outside of five or six teams at the top. The Clippers should be competitive, but I'd still definitely take the under on 42 wins.

Ryan Nembhard

1:04

If I'm expected to be waived by Charlotte, is Denver the only realistic option or there is other team like pacers since they have a connection with my brother? Is kj Simpson likely to be waived to make space for me or a standard contract if Denver is the choice.

Luke Adams

1:06

If you're willing to sign a two-way contract, I think you make sense for a lot of teams. Maybe even most. I don't think there's a team out there that has three two-way players better than you. Off the top of my head, Detroit and Miami are a couple others that could use a little more PG depth. Maybe Sacramento too.

1:07

And yes, I assume KJ Simpson would be the odd man out if the Nuggets were to sign Nembhard to a two-way. Hopkins is a 2026 draft pick and Whitmore is a recent signee with a pretty strong pedigree.

Jazzfan

1:07

Do you think the Jazz made a made a mistake by giving Keyonte George a five-year extension given his lack of defense?

Luke Adams

1:10

In last week's chat I said I didn't think the Jazz would extend George unless they were able to get a team-friendly price on him. I think $31MM per year probably qualifies, given that the max would have been $51MM annually.

He'll need to get at least a bit better defensively to warrant that price, but he made some strides last season after being awful in his first two seasons, and I think not playing for a tanking team anymore should help. He and everyone else will have more motivation to play harder on that end of the floor.

I don't dislike the deal for Utah and I think it's fair from George's perspective too.

remembering Ray Scott

1:10

so what is your sense of what is going to happen with Jalen Duren? Things seem to be getting strange with him and the pistons

Yaakov

1:10

What will be the final outcome with Jaylen Duren? At this point who would take a look with a sign and trade? Is there a world they can get Turner and Trey Murphy (even with giving up draft picks)? Does that make them a real contender?

Jon

1:10

How do you foresee the Jalen Duren contract situation playing out at this point?

Trajan Langdon

1:10

So, Duren... again. Seems like at this point he doesn't want to be in Detroit anymore. Does Langdon start accepting sign-and-trade offers, or is it a pride thing? Because the guy, even if he signs at 205 or so, will get booed out of the building every single game. At this point the relationship is beyond repair. Do you see Milwaukee or Sacramento potentially making offers to bring this fella in?

Luke Adams

1:10

Lots of interest in Duren this week. I'm going to be writing about him in a Front Office article that should go up later today or early tomorrow, so I don't want to step on that too much. But I will say:

1:13

It's very understandable that there has been a standoff here, since the season Duren just had would've easily earned him a 25% max deal as recently as 3-4 years ago. Teams have started negotiating these rookie scale extensions much more aggressively in the last couple years.
Players and their agents have very little leverage as restricted free agents. Your only real path to gaining leverage is making a convincing case that the team could lose you if you mishandle negotiations. And the best way to do that is to make a convincing case that you'll accept the QO and/or suggest you'd rather play elsewhere.
For as much criticism as Duren's reps have gotten from fans, I think they've done a pretty good job so far, considering the Pistons' offer keeps going up.

1:15

It's hard to tell whether there's real animosity between the two sides or if this whole process is just business.

I think we should get clarity in the next week, but it wouldn't surprise me if Duren ends up accepting something like five years, $205MM, then he and the Pistons both talk next week about how they always wanted to get something done and they're happy it worked out and they want to put it behind them and focus on basketball.

Just Curious

1:16

What's your take on Jaylen Brown? Most analysts and pundits are gushing about the Sixers right now, but the other side of the coin is that the Celtics decided to get rid of him. Boston's scoring differential was better with Brown on the bench, and their winning percentage was better when he didn't play. His advance stats (EPM, RAPM, DARKO) are not great. Also it's interesting he recently said that last season was his favorite year, presumably because he got to be the lead player with Tatum out. How do you weigh in?

Luke Adams

1:20

It's gonna be very fascinating to see how it plays out. I don't subscribe to the idea that the Celtics were great in spite of Brown, but I do also think that maybe his role in their success has been slightly overstated and that they won't drop off substantially by swapping him out for Paul George and Mitchell Robinson.

Think it's also worth remembering that offseason champions rarely become NBA champions, and there's a long list of examples of Sixers-esque "super-teams" who take a while to mesh due to chemistry or injury issues. I'm wary of expecting big things from them right out of the gates, and I could absolutely imagine there being articles 10 games into the season griping about the way touches are being distributed among Brown, Maxey, LeBron, etc.

Isaiah Stewart

1:21

What was the point of trading me? A salary dump? Pistons still have enough amount of space even after all extensions kick for me so was it a move on from my antics that I have been involved in? I thought I played great in the playoffs.

Luke Adams

1:23

I have to admit I was surprised you were moved. The best way I can explain it is that the Pistons were ready to double down on Duren and Ausar Thompson long-term and figured you wouldn't really be able to play a major role going forward alongside those two since you're a non-shooter.

I still think you had value as a frontcourt reserve, but the Pistons were making it a priority to add shooting and that deal helped them do it.

(We'll also have to see how much space is actually left below the tax line if and when the Duren deal gets done -- depending on where it comes in, the Pistons might be able to do a flat or descending structure and create more flexibility in future years.)

Jeffrey

1:24

Who are the Grizzlies most likely to waive or trade to get down to 15 spots?

Luke Adams

1:26

If they just waive four guys and don't make any trades, I expect it would be D'Angelo Russell and Kris Murray for sure, then two of Jordan Hawkins, Micah Peavy, or Walter Clayton, depending on who they like best from that group.

Taylor Hendricks is the only other one I could see being in real danger, but he played pretty well at the end of last season.

Edwill

1:27

Which teams that made the playoffs last year do you think might not make it back this upcoming season

Luke Adams

1:30

I'm finding it hard to handicap the East. Like, the Heat and Pacers are definitely legitimate threats to make the playoffs after missing out last season but I don't see two obvious teams who will drop out. The Hawks and Magic would probably be the popular picks, but I like both of those teams if they're healthy. That conference is gonna be a bloodbath.

In the West, the Suns are probably the most at risk. Could see them regressing a little. I'm not quite sure what to make of the Blazers, with Ja and Dame joining that backcourt. Could be a success (and a lot of fun!). Could be a disaster. We'll see.

AntBallKum Fan

1:30

What should the wolves do with that last roster spot?

Luke Adams

1:31

Don't think they need to be in any rush to fill it, given how underwhelming the current free agent options are. Probably in their best interests to wait to see who might shake free from other rosters by the end of the preseason.

GabeOfThrones

1:31

If the Nuggets finish outside the top 6 in the west this year, what are the chances they blow it all up next offseason and trade Murray and Jokic before he can opt out?

Luke Adams

1:38

A player who has an option can't be traded in the offseason before he makes a decision on that option, so that wouldn't work with Jokic.

I do think that if things don't go well in Denver this season, they'll absolutely need to do something more drastic like trading Murray or Gordon. I was a little surprised they had such a quiet offseason this year after being eliminated in the first round by a depleted Wolves team.

The Jokic situation is really interesting. I feel like it's not being talked about as much as it probably should be, since he's been so adamant about sticking with the Nuggets, but if they continue trending in the wrong direction this season, there's gonna be a lot of chatter about his future.

Question

1:39

with the rumours of miller able to get 200 million when being injured for most part (no disrespect to miller I love him) and nearly the same age as duren, why is that so? The center market is dried up, even if Duren didn't play that great in the playoffs , why are pistons so reluctant? Duren's jump is why they were so good in regular season but Brandon has only showed flashes of potential and improved but not nearly as Duren. His 3pt shot is great but his 2p% is pretty bad and he can't really create his shot consistently despite coming on his 4th year. I understand markets and cap space but why are hornets so willing to give money for a player that hasn't shown he can be a top tier player yet worth 200 million, why not wait till Rfa? Sorry for the lengthy run on and not concise questions but it's interesting to me.

Luke Adams

1:43

Even though the overall value of centers has bounced back in recent years, players like Miller (two-way wings with elite potential on both ends of the floor who can guard multiple positions and won't get played off the floor in the playoffs) are still probably the most valuable archetype in the NBA.

As for why the Hornets would be willing to give him $200MM now instead of waiting for restricted free agency, it's worth noting that that's still $55MM below his max ($11MM per year). If he has a big year, there will be teams willing to offer the max, and even if he doesn't get an offer sheet from one of them, you could get stuck in a Duren-esque standoff with him and risk creating bad blood.

If they're confident in his ability to keep improving, better to lock in that below-max price now, strengthen the relationship, and not have to worry about a contentious negotiation next summer.

Shaq Loves the FBI

1:43

Is it just me, or does this new 76'ers roster feel super lackluster once you get passed the starters? God forbid the shattered knees of Joel Embiid or 42 year old Lebron James don't make it through the full season, the roster gets a little thin talented wise both in center, and power forward

Luke Adams

1:45

I do like a few of the Sixers' bench pieces (starting with Wade and Simons) but I do agree that the frontcourt feels a little thin, especially given Embiid's injury history. Not hard to imagine a scenario where Embiid is unavailable for a playoff game and they're using LeBron as a small-ball center for most of the night, with Bona playing 10-15 minutes.

Guest

1:45

As mentioned in a previous HoopsRumors article, with the new Kawhi extension, the Raptors have on the books 178M, 2 mil over the salary cap, in projected salaries for '27/'28. This does not include extensions/possible contracts for key pieces like RJ Barrett and Jamal Shead, nor guys to fill out the rest of the roster. My question is 2 parts: Let's say the Raptors choose not to go into the tax in either this upcoming season nor the next. #1) What moves do you think they realisticly make in order to achieve this goal while still maintaining a real competitive edge in a now much deeper east? #2) If you were in charge what would you ideally like to do?
Personally I think it would be smart to keep RJ and Shead, and even Battle, and I think because they only have like 35 mil of play under the projected tax line for '27/'28, the only way of doing that, filling out the roster, and staying under the tax would be by getting off of the contracts of Quickly and Poeltl, which would very likely cost some real other asset

Luke Adams

1:49

I think Shead will be extended. He looks like a key part of that backcourt, and the price shouldn't be super-high. RJ's future could depend on how he fits this year alongside Kawhi and an ascending Murray-Boyles.

Ideally the Raptors would probably want to extend or re-sign Barrett, but giving him and Shead market-value deals would likely make them taxpayers unless they can find a taker for Poeltl (who I view as a much more likely trade candidate than Quickley).

It would help a lot if Poeltl has a nice bounce-back season in 2026/27. With his salary set to increase in '27/28, he'd still probably have negative value on the trade market, but if he can just show he's healthy and can be a starting-caliber center again, it should be easier to move him for a more affordable big man (like a Gafford type earning below $20MM) without having to attach multiple first-rounders.

Samuli

1:49

ESPN ranked Lauri Markkanen today as the 49th best player in the NBA this season. Is that ranking too high, too low, or just about right in your estimation?

Luke Adams

1:52

Would need to see who's ahead of and behind him to get a better sense of how fair that ranking is (I generally skip these lists because they feel explicitly designed to generate talk-show arguments).

My initial feeling is that a peak version of Markkanen should be higher than that, but that that's a perfectly reasonable spot for him based on the fact that he's been playing half-seasons for a tanking team for the last few years.

Bulls Fan

1:52

Since the Bulls had the #4 pick, are we eligible for a top pick in next year's draft if we have a bad season?

Luke Adams

1:54

Yes. The new lottery system prohibits teams from getting a top-five pick in three consecutive years. If the Bulls get one in 2027, it would only be the second consecutive time (they'd be ineligible to a top-five pick in 2028 if they get one next year).

Caleb Martin

1:54

Am I the worst contract in the league who doesn't make more than 12 million?

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